Conductive shoe



Oct. 28, 1941. l.. J. MONAHAN CONDUGTIVE SHOE Filed April 19, 1941abbo/911443 Patented Oct. 28, 1941 CONDUCTIVE SHOE Leo J. Monahan,Humboldt, Tenn., assignor to ODonnell Shoe Company, Humboldt, Tenn., acorporation of Minnesota Application April'19, 1941, Serial No. 389,431

(Cl. 12S-382) 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to conductive footwear and moreparticularly to a conductive shoe having a conductive insole and aconductive outsole, together with efficient means for establishingelectrical contact or providing a conductive path between the two.

Footwear of the character set forth above is so designed that staticelectrical charges are not readily gathered by the human body.Furthermore, such electrical charges, if gathered, are

practically instantaneously discharged through the shoe directly to thesupporting surface which constitutes an electrical ground or dischargebody for the condenser act-ion of the human body. Footwear of thischaracter is found useful by surgeons, nurses and other attendants inoperating rooms where the fumes of ether or other combustible vapors orgases are apt to be present. This type of footwear is also found usefulin certain industrial trades as for example in powder plants and otherplaces where explosives are manufactured as well as-in gunnery turretsor powder magazines on board warships and in other places where extremecaution is required to prevent accumulation and accidental discharge ofstatic electrical charges from the human body or from the clothing wornthereby.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a conductiveshoe having a conductive insole and a conductive outsole together withrelatively simple and inexpensive yet highly efflcient means forproviding a conductive path between the two soles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe oi this characterwhich presents to the foot of the wearer a relatively wide area ofcontact yet which at the same time is comfortable to the foot. A relatedobject is to provide such a shoe which is characterized by an absence ofmetallic inserts such as would ordinarily provide a direct skin-to-metalcontact with its attendant discomfiture.

Anc-ther object of the invention is to provide a conduct-.ve shoe havinga sole which is formed of conductive material that offers a relativelyhigh resistance to static charges of electricity gathered in the humanbody whereby such charges are passed to ground slowly Without creationof an attendant spark.

Yet another object of the invention is to pro- -vide a conductive shoeof the type set forth above in which the means whereby a conductive pathis established between the conductive insole and the conductive outsolealso constitutes a fastenlng means which assists in maintaining the heelof the shoe in position as well as maintaining the conductive insoleanchored Within the shoe.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this time setforth, will become readily apparent as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of thisspecification one embodiment of the invention is shown. In the drawing:

Figure l is a sectional view taken longitudinally and substantiallycentrally through a conductive shoe manufactured in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 ofFigure 1.

In both of the above described views, like characters of reference areemployed to designate like parts throughout.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the improved conductive shoe isdesignated in its entirety at lil and includes a conductive outer solel2 which may be formed of rubber or other relatively soft material whichhas been treated by a metallizing or other operation to render the sameconductive. Overlying the outer sole I2 and cemented or otherwisesecured thereto coextensively is a non-conductive sole of leather or thelike as shown at I4. Conventional stitching l5 is applied to the twosoles i2 and I4 to assist in' maintaining these parts together as wellas for lending a finished appearance to the shoe. A heel portion |'8includes an upper leather section 20 and a lower outer section 22 whichis preferably formed of rubber and which is secured to the upper section20 by a series of nails 24.

An insole 26 of conductive rubber or other relatively soft conductivematerial is disposed Within the shoe upper 28 and a plurality ofordinary nails 30 are driven through the insole and through the outersoles i 2 and I 4 and extend into the leather portion 20 of the heel I8.The nails 30 perform the dual function of establishing electricalcontact between the conductive irsole 26 and the conductive outer solel2 as well as serving to anchor the insole in position within the shoe.A sock lining which is preferably formed of conductive rubber overliesthe conductive insole 26 and may be united thereto in any suitablemanner. The sock lining 32 is preferably coextensive with the conductiveinsole and thus affords a relatively wide area of contact for the footof the wearer in order that static electrical charges may readily bepassed through the shoe to ground.

The term relatively soft as used herein is applicable to conductiverubber and leather or other similar material which has been renderedconductive by a suitable processing operation. Such a term is designedto distinguish the conductive material of the outer sole I2, the insole2l. and the sock lining 32 from harder and more rigid materials such asmetal which are perfect conductors and, unlike these softer materials,do not afford a slow leakage path for static electrical charges to theground.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawing or described in this speciilcation asvarious changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as theinvention has been particularly pointed out in the accompanying claimsis the same to be limited.

What is claimed is:

1. A conductive shoe including an outer sole of relatively soit flexiblematerial, said sole being electrically conductive material which offersa relatively high resistance therethrough, an insole likewise formed ofrelatively soft ilexible material which is electrically conductive andwhich oiIers a relatively high resistance therethrough, and meanselectrically connecting the insole and the outsole.

2. A conductive shoe including an outer sole of relatively soit ilexiblematerial, said soie being electrically conductive material which offersa relatively high resistance therethrough, an insole likewise formed ofrelatively soft ilexible material which is electrically conductive andwhich oil'ers a relatively high resistance therethrough, a heelv securedto said outsole, and means extending through said insole and outsole andprojecting into the heel for establishing electrical contact between theconductive insole and the conductive outsole. 4

3. A conductive shoe including an outer sole of relatively soft ilexiblematerial, said sole being electrically conductive material which oers arelatively high resistance therethrough whereby static clectricalcharges gathered in the human body and conducted by the foot to saidoutsole are passed to the ground slowly, and means disposed in the shoeand designed for contact with the foot for electrically connecting thelatter to said outer sole.

4. A conductive shoe including a sole of relatively soft flexiblematerial, said sole being electrically conductive material which offersa relatively high resistance therethrough whereby static electricalcharges gathered in the human body and conducted by the toot to saidsole are passed to the ground slowly.

LEO J. MONAHAN.

DISCLAIMER October 28, 1941. Disclaimer led July 14, 1

Shoe Company. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claim 4 of said patent.

[O cial Gazette August 25, 1942.]

942, by the assignee, Donnell D l S C L A l M E R 2,261,072.-Leo J.Monahan, Humboldt, Tenn. CONDUCTIVE SHOE. Patent dated October 28, 1941.Disclaimer led July 14, 1942, by the assignee, ODonnell Shoe Company.Hereby enters this disclaimer to claim 4 of said patent.

[Oficial Gazette August 25, 1.942.]

